A Paul for love E-Book

Alexandra Felleitner

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 283

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Sophie is satisfied with her life. She has a job that is going well, a friend she can always count on, and she is an independent woman who can manage on her own. And after all the disappointments in her past relationships, the last thing she needs right now is another man—not even her best friend Lena's well-intentioned attempts to set her up can change her mind. Because of her refusal to fall in love again, love angel Paul steps in. His job is to bring soulmates together. His mission—to get Sophie and Max to meet and eventually fall in love—proves extremely difficult, and then Paul is assigned an apprentice, Samantha, who causes more chaos than she helps.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Afterword by Love Angel Paul

IMPRINT

Chapter 1

Max and Sophie

Max is looking forward to finishing work when his friend and boss Eddie waves him over to the counter at the gym. Eddie is on the phone with Mrs. von Wernher, who is already on her way to the gym and insists on a one-on-one abs, legs, and butt workout with Max.

"Yes, of course," and "he's really looking forward to seeing you," Max hears Eddie say, and he already knows who he's talking to. Of all days, another session with Mrs. von Wernher, the dolled-up woman in her sixties who blows him kisses and gives him seductive looks during training, even winking at him several times.

Just what I needed today! But what wouldn't you do for your best friend?

A few minutes later, she comes through the front door and greets him with an exuberant hug and a possessive kiss on the cheek.

After several pinches on the butt and many suggestive remarks, Max finally gets through the lesson and says goodbye to Mrs. von Wernher with a kiss on the hand and an exaggerated, gracious bow. She flutters her eyelashes seductively and immediately books the next training session with Max – a private lesson, of course – for the next day.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow," he says, trying to sound friendly.

She, on the other hand, just whispers "Ciao, sweetie!" with a kissy face.

"But you're buying me a drink later at Jimmy's Bar!"

"Sure, I owe you one," Eddie replies, and they say goodbye, meeting up again at the bar a short time later.

***

"Miss Lehmann, revise your marketing concept for the hair shampoo today. The layout needs some more fine-tuning. You know I don't tolerate mediocrity! It needs to be on my desk by 8 a.m. tomorrow!"

Sophie flinches and jumps up. Did her boss notice that a dark-haired man with fawn-brown eyes was kneeling in front of her in her mind?

"Yes, of course," she stammers, "I'm sure I can do that."

"I didn't expect anything else from you."

"Yes, of course... I don't have any plans for today..."

Sophie sighs.

"Have a nice evening, Mr. Schmitt."

But he has already disappeared through the door and shortly afterwards the heavy wooden front door falls shut.

"That's the third time he's asked for the 'final touch' on the shampoo! Ordinary?! Hm, he'll never be satisfied!"

After working overtime, Sophie makes her way to her best friend Lena, who owns the coffee shop on Schubertplatz. Lena opened the café seven years ago. At that time, the building was a sewing workshop, but it had been closed for many years. People were very curious during the renovation, and the opening week was a complete success. Lena quickly built up a regular clientele for whom the coffee shop had become something of a second home.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee, the milky brown walls, the dark red wall behind the counter, and the dark brown wooden floor create a stress-free atmosphere. Sophie was able to persuade Lena to choose dark red, comfortable leather armchairs ( ) for the right side of the café. On the other side, Lena put her ideas into practice and arranged brown, thickly upholstered benches back to back. At the back, opposite the entrance, is the counter where Sophie has her regular spot. From here, Lena can serve the guests and at the same time discuss the news of the day with Sophie.

Through the large windows that reach almost to the floor, Lena can already see Sophie coming across Schubertplatz and immediately prepares a cappuccino for her. But Sophie first walks past the counter toward the restroom.

As the door to the restrooms closes behind Sophie, the entrance door to the coffee shop opens and Max enters the shop. He looks around briefly and wonders why he came here.

"Never mind, a nice hot coffee is just what I need after that lesson with Mrs. von Wernher!"

He goes to the counter and orders a double espresso to go. He was actually on his way home, but Lindengasse was closed due to roadworks, so he had to go via Schubertplatz and ended up in the coffee shop.

"Wow, a real treat—and Sophie isn't here!"

Lena takes her time so that Sophie can see him, but when she's done, he puts the money on the counter and heads for the door.

Only now does Sophie return, but she stops at the door to the restrooms because Lena is gesticulating wildly with her arms.

When Sophie finally realizes what Lena wants from her, she can only see the strange man from a distance. But she doesn't really care about him.

When will Lena finally understand that I don't want a relationship? I have no intention of ending my break from men!

A year ago, Sophie ended her relationship with Giovanni. He had cheated on her several times with his ex-girlfriend Arianna, but then came back to her on his knees. Blind with love, Sophie forgave him; after all, he was the love of her life, and when she decided to give the relationship a second chance, it was supposed to be forever.

A few weeks later, after Giovanni broke his leg in a motorcycle accident, she knew she had made the right decision. Her love was stronger than ever. She devoted herself to visiting him every day after work. She often visited him in the morning before going to the office because he didn't like the hospital breakfast, so she brought him fresh cappuccino and croissants. Giovanni had surgery on his leg, and Sophie felt very sorry for him because the pain lasted a long time. After two weeks, she eagerly awaited the day when she could take him home. She had turned her living room into a proper sickroom so that he could be comfortable in front of the TV. She had cooked lunch for the next few days so that he wouldn't have to get up too much when he was home alone. Sophie had also quickly bought him new slippers because Giovanni always had cold toes and his swollen feet wouldn't fit into his own slippers. Sophie was pleased with herself—she had thought of everything and had cleaned the apartment late into the night because it was important to him. This time, however, his fussiness didn't bother her at all. Giovanni was sick and he should feel completely at home with her.

The next morning, the time had come—Giovanni was finally allowed to go home. Sophie had taken a day off work because she wanted to pick him up from the hospital first thing in the morning. She entered the hospital room and was shocked to find Giovanni in flagrante delicto with the nurse. Of course, Sophie had seen him undressing her with his eyes in the days before. She had also seen the nurse relishing the opportunity to stick her bottom out at him as she shook the bed covers. He made no secret of giving the busty nurse a slap on the butt in Sophie's presence.

That was just Giovanni's way, but that he would go so far and that the two of them hadn't even bothered to hide!

From then on, she wanted nothing more to do with men. However, her relationship with Giovanni was the icing on the cake of all her previous relationships.

Before Sophie met Giovanni, she had a romance with Bernhard. It lasted almost two years, but it didn't work out because he was too stingy. Every euro had to be turned over. When he did manage to bring himself to take her to a restaurant, they would at least drink coffee at home afterwards to save money. They never went to the movies, avoided coffee houses, and vacations were out of the question because it all cost too much money. He only let her go to boutiques if an item of clothing was torn. For a while, Sophie didn't mind this too much; after all, she was able to save a lot of money herself—but a whole life without any pleasures was too much, or rather too little.

Looking back, her relationship with Bernhard – the one with Georg – was still the best, except that Georg was a workaholic and therefore never at home. So Sophie ended that relationship too, because she was just as much alone with Georg as she was without him.

"It's time you met someone new. Nobody likes to be alone!"

"What do you mean? Am I hanging around you too much? Am I too much of a burden?"

"No, not at all, but you know that. I just wish you could have some nice romantic moments together—cuddling on the sofa in the evening after work, spending a weekend in the country or at a spa hotel. Or slipping into your boyfriend's sweater the next morning, which still smells like him. You must miss those intimate moments together, and I wish that for you with all my heart! You're my best friend and I see you every day. Most of the time you're happy, and I think you're pretty satisfied with your life. But sometimes your eyes look sad and empty. That's when I think maybe those are the moments when you wish you had a partner. And then I feel a little guilty because I have Peter and you don't have anyone. Of course, Peter and I argue sometimes, you know that. But the feeling of waking up in the morning next to the person you love is just indescribable."

"Yes, I admit, sometimes I think of a tall, dark-haired man with fawn-brown eyes who waits eagerly for me at home after work and takes long walks with me on the weekends."

"See, I knew I was right."

"But I also admit that I often think of Georg, Bernhard, and especially Giovanni, and then the handsome man with the fawn-brown eyes disappears just as quickly as he came."

"You're hopeless!"

They both laugh.

"It's nice that you care about me, but things are still fine the way they are right now."

Lena doesn't press the issue any further today. She senses that it's better not to probe any deeper. Meanwhile, Sophie smiles away her sadness, which has risen a little higher than she wanted it to today.

"It's already quarter past eight, where's Peter? He should have been here fifteen minutes ago! You just can't rely on him these days!"

"I'll help you. I'll clean the espresso machine instead of Peter, and you do the cash register."

"That's really sweet of you, but it's not about cleaning, it's about Peter shirking his responsibilities again, even though it's part of his job. I work here alone all day and all he has to do in the evening is clean the coffee machine, and in the last few weeks he hasn't even managed that!"

"Oh, come on, you know he has to work a lot of overtime at the moment. It's not his fault that his company is doing so well, and besides, he's not earning too badly with a few extra hours at the moment, you have to admit that," Sophie tries to cheer Lena up so that the dinner they have planned for tonight will still be enjoyable.

When they have finished all their work and are about to close the coffee shop, Peter arrives.

"Why are you wearing those jeans that make your hips look so big?"

Lena snorts with anger and her face turns bright red. Sophie tries to change the subject so that the two don't start arguing, as they so often do.

"Are we having Mexican or Chinese tonight?"

After a brief discussion, they decide on Mexican and head toward the city center. At first, Sophie walks next to them, until Lena remembers her comment about her jeans and hips and Sophie has to walk between them to calm the argument down, which she doesn't manage to do today. Now that Lena and Peter are deep in their argument, Sophie sinks into her thoughts and is once again glad that she's not in a relationship at the moment.

She doesn't notice Max, who is on his way to Jimmy's bar and is coming towards the three of them. He is in a bit of a hurry, so he doesn't see her and bumps into Peter's upper arm. He mumbles an apology and continues on his way. Peter, who is already in a bad mood because he had to listen to a lecture about Lena's hips, is furious and yells angrily after him:

"You wimp, can't you watch where you're going!"

The two women drag Peter away before he loses his temper and provokes a serious argument or perhaps even a fight. After a few minutes, Peter has calmed down and they can go to the Mexican restaurant in peace, without further debate.

Chapter 2

Paul

At the same time, Paul is sitting at his desk in his office. He feels comfortable in his white suit with a white shirt and white tie. The obligatory white can also be found on his desk, on the floor, on the walls, and on the sky-high ceiling.

Paul's workplace has several monitors that allow him to see into the lives of his protégés. However, observing his protégés is not about controlling them, but rather experiencing their feelings and analyzing and understanding their thoughts and actions. They are guided with great sensitivity by creating tailor-made, more or less random encounters and situations in which they meet the right life partner. After the first intense eye contact, the case is often already closed for Paul, because falling in love usually happens by itself, as those involved feel deep down that they have found the right match for their heart. Only in very stubborn cases, i.e., people who find it difficult to allow themselves to feel emotions, does Paul need to help – that is his job.

His office is located on administration level 1 in the so-called gray zone. This level is above our world, but still below the last, the highest level of existence. This is the goal of our journey as human beings, which we begin there as souls without bodies, and after we have completed it , we are allowed to remain there after we have shed our human shells.

Paul has been sitting at his desk all night thinking about the failed encounter between Sophie, Lena, Peter, and Max. He is slowly getting a little nervous because in five minutes, the meeting with Paul's boss, Charles York, will begin. Every week, all angels must report on their current cases and their progress. However, Paul has no success to report regarding Sophie and Max. All the angels gather around the large, white, oval table in the meeting room. At first, Paul and his colleagues chat among themselves, but when the door opens and Charles York enters the room, they immediately fall silent. Charles York does not tolerate delays in the weekly meeting. One by one, everyone reports on their current cases. When it's Paul's turn, he hesitates, as he doesn't have much to show for himself. Sophie and Max missed each other at the coffee shop, and on the way to the Mexican restaurant, Max bumped into Peter instead of Sophie. Things are not looking good for Paul, and he receives his first reprimand from his boss.

After the meeting, Paul trudges back to his desk, deeply saddened and dejected. Now he really has to come up with something outstanding. He comes to the conclusion that casual encounters alone are not enough for Sophie and Max. Both are too closed off and unable to get involved in feelings at the moment.

Sometimes, the first tender feelings grow when two people stand behind each other for just a short time, such as in a queue; extremely sensitive people are then overcome by a feeling of well-being, they feel warmth or good humor, although these sensitive people can already feel the feelings but cannot yet identify them. Sophie and Max are not among them. Paul therefore decides to take tougher measures.

Suddenly, he has the perfect idea: he'll just send Sophie to the gym. Sophie isn't fat, on the contrary, she's slim, but women always think they're too fat. It should therefore be easy to send Sophie the thought that she needs to do more for her figure. There she will meet Max and fall in love with him. Paul is happy; he will send her the thought today. Charles York will be pleased with him, and he will soon be able to deliver positive results.

Chapter 3

The workout

Friday morning begins as usual for Max. In his bed is a beautiful stranger whom he met the night before and took home with him. He takes a shower and hopes she'll leave right after breakfast. The sooner, the better. He's met a woman a second time once or twice before, but she had to be something special.

A second meeting isn't necessary this time.

After his shower, his conquest is already dressed. They have breakfast together, then he goes to work and she probably does too; he didn't ask.

***

Sophie stretches out in bed, the sun shining on her nose. She slept well and feels good. However, she is a little sad because she has to lie in bed all alone, and Lena's words from yesterday come back to her: "The feeling of waking up in the morning next to the person you love is simply indescribable."

Before the thought spoils her mood, she takes a shower and has breakfast. When she goes to get her jacket, she stops in front of the mirror in the hallway and looks at herself critically from head to toe—as she always does before leaving the apartment. There's nothing wrong with her, really. Sophie is 5'6" tall and has a petite figure. Her hair, which is , is often unruly and sometimes it turns into a battle to get it under control. She turns to the right in front of the mirror, then to the left, then back to the front again. Something is different, but what? Maybe she should go to the gym after all?! Clearly, a little toning up in some areas wouldn't hurt! That's it!

Google – location – gym. She taps on the first search result on her smartphone, the fitness oasis, which is also within walking distance of the advertising agency. Sophie calls and books an hour of abs, legs, and butt for her lunch break. After Sophie's call, Eddie assigns the clients to individual fitness sessions and trainers and signs Sophie up for Max's class – much to the delight of Paul, who throws his hands up in the air and leans back happily in his office chair. Finally, he can let things take their course, because everything else will now take care of itself.

Sophie quickly packs her gym bag, puts her workout clothes and a towel inside, and heads off to work. Mr. Schmitt will surely want to discuss the newly revised hair shampoo concept first thing.

When she arrives at the agency, she is greeted effusively by Ms. Gabriele, the receptionist.

"Good morning, Miss Lehmann, something has been delivered for you today."

"Good morning, Gabriele. What do you have for me? The hair shampoo order? Has Mr. Schmitt made more changes?"

"No, no files, flowers were delivered for you."

"Flowers... for me? Who would that be from...?"

"You know the florist next to Lena's coffee shop? I always order flowers from him for special customers. The flowers he delivered today are for you, though. There's a card with your name on it."

Ms. Gabriele grins expectantly like a Cheshire cat, as if they were her own flowers.

"Thank you, Gabriele, I'll read the card at the office."

Somewhat disappointed, she leaves the receptionist, who would have loved to know who sent the flowers.

"Who sent me flowers?"

The small card reads "Sophie Lehmann" in gold letters and further down: "Nine red roses for the most beautiful of all roses!"

She has never received flowers before, and now they've been delivered to the agency?

As Sophie makes her way to the gym shortly before noon, Max is already sitting at the counter looking at his workout plan for the day.

Hmm, fresh meat in the abs, legs, and butt class. Hopefully there'll be a hottie there again and not just chubby girls.

A new bed bunny would be just the thing for him today.

Just as he is about to head to his training room, he hears a familiar voice behind him.

"Hello, sweetie!" calls Mrs. von Wernher, who has arrived two hours early unannounced, as her class doesn't start until the afternoon. She insists on an immediate private lesson with Max. Eddie rushes over and, before Max can refuse, pushes her into the fitness room.

"Of course, Mrs. von Wernher, always for you, Max is happy to do it."

And to Max he says, "Four people are missing from Anke's group today, so we can combine your group with hers."

Max shoots Eddie a withering glance while Mrs. von Wernher isn't looking, but then he puts on a brave face, smiles bravely, and Mrs. von Wernher happily hooks her arm through his and, before the lesson begins, pinches his butt for the first time today.

Eddie turns his attention to the new customers he sent to the changing room earlier and welcomes them back at the reception desk to show them around. Apart from Sophie, two women in their 50s have signed up for the class today.

While Max has already started the class with Mrs. von Wernher in one of the gym rooms, Eddie takes Sophie and the other newcomers to the fitness room next door.

***

"This can't be happening! It just can't be!"

Paul nervously shifts from one foot to the other, then starts pacing back and forth in front of the screens in his office.

"They're only a few meters apart and yet they're not together! They haven't even seen each other! I didn't expect Wernher's wife to show up all dolled up! But all is not lost! How lucky that the sessions end at the same time, they're bound to see each other. Yes, and once they've seen each other, my work is done. They'll fall in love and live happily ever after!"

Paul is hopelessly romantic, and his favorite moment is always when two people who are meant for each other look into each other's eyes for the first time. At that moment, it only takes a few seconds for the heart and soul to know that they have found the right person. It's just like a parade of thousands of tiny little red creatures running across our hearts, as if it were a fragrant flower meadow, with little red flags in their hands, cheering and full of enthusiasm.

***

While Anke dismisses her group to the changing rooms after the lesson, Mrs. von Wernher is still flirting with Max, and Anke's fitness room is already empty when Max finally finishes. Mrs. von Wernher also leaves the fitness oasis right away, because she doesn't want to shower with strange women; she prefers to do that at home. As her chauffeur pulls up, she turns around and blows Max a kiss with her seductively pouting lips.

Sophie wanders back and forth between the many rows in the changing room until she finally finds the shower stalls. She doesn't really like showering in public places, but she can't go back to the agency and home sweaty; it would take too much time.

So she slips behind the shower curtain. There is no one else in the washroom, so Sophie doesn't notice that she has gone into the men's shower. She enjoys the warm water and her tired muscles relax. With her eyes closed, she leans against the wall.

How good a little exercise is for the body.

Suddenly Sophie is startled—men's voices!

Max has gone to the washroom to get a new T-shirt from his locker. Eddie checks the changing room for any clothes or other items that have been left behind. Nothing has been left behind today, so he teases Max about Ms. von Wernher. The two leave the changing room chatting and return to the reception area at the counter.

Sophie breathes a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she wasn't discovered – that would have been very embarrassing!

She quickly wraps her towel around herself and goes back to the women's area, where she dries herself off and gets dressed, her heart racing.

***

Paul sits at his desk, a picture of misery. His hands are over his eyes and he is close to tears.

What on earth is going on with those two? So much bad luck in one place... how is that even possible?

Early in the morning, he had been so proud when Sophie had responded so positively to his idea of going to the gym—that's not something you can take for granted; women have a mind of their own and their own opinions.

And when Sophie arrived at the fitness oasis, everything seemed to be going according to plan – until Mrs. von Wernher came and ruined the first possible meeting and then the second one as they were leaving the gym. When Sophie accidentally went into the men's shower, Paul almost wet himself with laughter, because that wasn't his idea, it was actually Sophie's mistake. When Max then went into the men's changing room, Paul held his breath – would the two find their way to each other all by themselves?

But after it didn't work out today, Paul isn't laughing anymore and feels like crying.

I'm a total failure! What will my colleagues say? What will they think? There has never been a case I couldn't solve.

The statistics are clear – none of his colleagues have solved as many cases as Paul. He's also the fastest. Only a few can choose encounters like he does, so that not even those involved think it's a coincidence.

Will the others still respect me when they hear about my failure? What will they say? And what's even worse: what will Charles York say?

Paul takes a deep breath, pushes his concern for his boss aside for the moment, and begins to think hard.

"This is the most difficult case I've ever had, but no one can say I didn't work hard enough on it!"

"Just one more encounter alone won't be enough; we need a list! Nothing can be left to chance—unwanted chance!"

Paul ponders and feverishly considers where he can bring the two together.

Definitely at Lena's coffee shop, he writes on the list, more workouts at the gym, that's for sure. And to be on the safe side, they should bump into each other while shopping at the supermarket, and if that's still not enough, at Jimmy's bar in the evening.

Paul takes a deep breath.

"That's definitely enough!"

Even if Charles York won't be immediately satisfied with him, he will recognize his work and diligence.

***

Max has completed his last workout for the day and is now on his way home. As of today, Lindengasse is open to pedestrians again, but Max takes a detour via Schubertplatz because he has a sudden craving for coffee and heads for Lena's coffee shop.

Sophie is coming from the opposite direction at the same time. Her workday is also over, and like every day, she's ending it at Lena's. Only a few steps separate them from the front door, and Max is only a few meters away. At the same time, they reach for the door handle.

"Ah, damn!"

Lena's high heels are stuck in the cobblestones. She slips her right foot out of her shoe and Max reaches the door alone.

While he orders a cappuccino to go for Lena, Sophie struggles with her shoe. When it finally comes off and she can put it back on, Max is already on his way out with his " ." At the front door, they pass each other and briefly look into each other's eyes. It's a slow-motion moment, everything seems to slow down, the sounds in the café are muffled.

What beautiful eyes!

"Ouch, damn it!"

Sophie buckles and crouches down to grab her ankle. For a brief moment, it seems as if Max wants to kneel down too, but he doesn't because his cell phone rings and he just keeps walking.

Paul is depressed. The eye contact was too brief for his heart to sense that this is the last little piece of the puzzle that completes his soul.

Max answers his phone—it's Eddie. At the gym, the two had already discussed that, like every Friday, they would go snail hunting at Jimmy's Bar.

"Hey, Max! How's it going? Shall we meet at 8 p.m.?"

"I have to go to the supermarket first. You know I usually serve breakfast!"

Confident of victory, he pats himself on the shoulder.

"How about I pick you up at 9:45?"

"Sounds good, that'll give me enough time to shop and get my apartment ready. It's not so busy earlier in the evening anyway."

When Sophie arrives at the coffee shop counter, Lena is already very excited: "Did you see him?"

"Who am I supposed to have seen?"

"The guy I wanted to show you yesterday. He was just here again, getting a coffee to go. You must have seen him. He left right after you came in."

"Oh, the guy at the front door."

"Yes, exactly him. Doesn't he look incredibly good? He would be so perfect for you. What do you think? Do you like him? You have to like him , those fawn-brown eyes, the dark brown hair, his handsome, well-built figure. Come on, tell me, what do you think?"

"Calm down, you're getting all worked up. I just ruined my high heels."

"What? Yeah, that's too bad about your shoes—but what do you think of him?"

"What about him?"

"The Adonis who just walked past you at the front door, the one I wanted to show you yesterday and we've been talking about for the last five minutes!"

"Oh, right. Well, I don't know. I didn't have time to think about it."

"What's there to think about? You saw him, and you already know whether you like someone or not!"

"Leave it alone, Lena, I don't want to be set up!"

"I'm not trying to set you up, I just want to know if you like him and then I'll leave you alone!"

"All right, just so I can have some peace and we can talk about more important things: He may have been good-looking. I didn't look closely."

"But you liked what you saw?"

"Yes, the little I saw wasn't so bad, I think. Are you satisfied now?"

Yes, now Lena is satisfied. Not a resounding success, but at least it's a start! Slowly, in tiny steps, she has been trying for a long time to break down the wall Sophie has built around herself.

Lena also had time today to take a good look at Max while she was making his coffee. He looks like a macho guy, but behind the façade there's definitely a decent person.

She pushes her thoughts aside when Lukas enters the coffee shop, beaming from ear to ear. Lukas is twelve years old and the son of Elke, who runs the flower shop next door with her husband Christian. He comes here almost every day to get coffee for his parents or cake for himself. Today he orders a chocolate muffin.

"I'm not taking it home today, I'm eating it here," he says decisively and sits down at the counter next to Sophie.

Meanwhile, Sophie and Lena continue their conversation and arrange to meet at Jimmy's Bar at 9 p.m. After eating a ham bagel and drinking a cappuccino, Sophie quickly says goodbye to Lena. She has to hurry if she wants to do some shopping and take a shower before meeting up again in the evening.

A short time later, Sophie's shopping basket slowly fills with wholemeal bread, a jar of Nutella, and fruit muesli. As she walks past, she grabs a liter of milk and adds it to the other items. She still needs shower gel.

Meanwhile, Max is already standing in line at the supermarket checkout, holding his usual breakfast for "the morning after"—orange juice, some ham, cheese, and jam—when he suddenly remembers that his condom drawer at home is empty. So he pushes his way back through the line, much to the annoyance of the other people waiting, to go through the entire store again. Finally, he reaches the aisle with the hygiene products and heads straight for the condoms. Unfortunately, the brand he usually uses is sold out today, so he can't decide which ones to buy.

Sophie is standing with her back to Max, about two meters down the aisle. She can't find her favorite shower gel. Everything looks different today; apparently, the shelves have been rearranged. She is concentrating on finding the product when suddenly, a bottle of shampoo falls off the shelf a meter away from her.

How could that happen? Nobody touched the bottle? What are we supposed to think?

Max hears the bottle hit the floor but doesn't pay any attention to it.

Paul is annoyed.

"Young men these days have no manners. Oh well, I'll give them a hand!"

He grabs Max by the shoulders, turns him around gently, and applies slight pressure so that he bends down and picks up the shampoo bottle. Max can't feel Paul's touch, but without meaning to, he bends down and picks up the shampoo. He gives it to Sophie because he thinks she dropped it.